2:45 is the new 2:55

At some point in 2010, I told myself that I would try to time qualify for my next NYC Marathon rather than do a 9+1 or lottery.  I would need a 2:55 marathon to accomplish this.  And though my current PR is 3:29, with some more training, and a speed-friendly course, I really do believe I could reach that 2:55 mark.

But then NYRR lowered the time to 2:45.  Two-freakin-forty five.  What.  The. Hell.

I'm not going to get into this.  I'm just gonna let it stew in my gut for a bit.  Plus, I have other things on the calendar- goals that I seriously cannot take my eyes off of.  Like the Ironman.  And speaking of getting distracted, I've registered for the Mohawk Hudson River Marathon again this year.  My pal Mark will running it, after missing out last year due to an ankle issue.  Fellow SCBkR runner and TNT alumni, Matt, will be coming up to run it and maybe some others will join us.  Should be fun.  And I hope to PR the hell out of it.

Last weekend, while up visiting my parents, I decided to visit the Mohawk Hudson River path, one of my favorite running routes, and home to the above sited marathon.  What I got was another snowy run.

The sign that greets me, in the parking lot across from the L&M Motel.

I drove to the closest access point to the path, across from the L&M Motel, and parked.  I brought my light weight Sauccony Kinveras, but it was immediately obvious that I'd once again be wearing my Gortex lined Salomon XAComps.  Not just snow, there was a lot of ice out there.  I generally stay on this path, turning around and going back the other way rather than running through the Schenectady Stockade area, but sidewalks were clear of snow and that was a strong selling point.  Plus, I had my iPhone on me and thought it'd be nice to share some highlights of this route.

Apparently the oldest house in the city, built in the late 1700s.

After pausing for the photos, I popped out the other side (the neighborhood is like 5 blocks long) and found the rest of the path.  It was deceivingly clear for about a mile or so.  I soon encountered more snow and ice. It wasn't the fun light snow, it was crusty and icy.  It's ironic that this has been the most mild winter I can remember in NY, yet I'm tired of doing long runs in the snow.  Yes.  Ironic.  But hey, it's kind of pretty, no?

Somewhere in Niskayuna.

General Electric turbine factory.  My dad used to work there.  Until they laid him off and shipped his job across the border... to Pennsylvania.

Lock 8 on the Mohawk River, part of the Erie Canal.

For fun, I decided to do 13.1 miles.  It was kind of hard.  My legs were still recovering from the Thursday weights session and again, it was hard running on that snow and ice.  I managed to crank out an average 9:10 pace, but on the clear patches, it seemed I could hold a steady 8:30ish pace. I'm looking forward testing that this snowless Saturday.